Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Brownsville, TX

April 8, 2003Cameron County, Texas

NWS Brownsville, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 8, 2003, 9:40 AM CDT for Cameron County, Texas. It was in force for 20 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 8, 2003, 9:40 AM CDT (14:40 UTC)
Expired
Apr 8, 2003, 10:00 AM CDT
In force
20 min
Issued by
NWS Brownsville, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cameron County, TX

The radar

The Brownsville radar (KBRO), 8 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:43 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Brownsville Intl, TX (KBRO), launched 12:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 9 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-04-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1499 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Brownsville Intl, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-04-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1499 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-124 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
583 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
212 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

736 
WFUS54 KBRO 081440
TORBRO
TXC061-081500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
939 AM CDT TUE APR 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN CAMERON COUNTY IN DEEP SOUTH TEXAS

* UNTIL 1000 AM CDT

* AT 938 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR CAMERON
  PARK...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL AFFECT WEST BROWNSVILLE IN THE NEXT 5 TO 10 
MINUTES.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 2606 9755 2588 9755 2584 9713 2605 9712

$$

SPEECE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Brownsville, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 8, 7:36 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo, Starr39 min
Apr 8, 8:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROHidalgo60 min
Apr 8, 8:31 AM CDTTornado WarningBROHidalgo29 min
Apr 8, 8:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron, Hidalgo35 min
Apr 8, 9:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBROCameron34 min
Apr 8, 9:43 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningBRO2 hr
Apr 8, 9:43 AM CDTSpecial Marine WarningBRO2 hr
Apr 8, 9:59 AM CDTTornado WarningBROCameron31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.